Name: ____________________________________

Unit 2: ECOLOGY NOTES

What is ecology?

Ecology describes _____________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Not Another Nature Film:

1. What things do ecosystems provide for us?

2. How many planets worth of resources do we use?

3. Why is the stick so optimistic?

The term ecology is based on ________________________________________________________________________________

Nature’s “houses” come in many sizes

The largest is the ____________________________________

___________________________________________ contains all of the planet where life exists – land, water, air, atmosphere

It even extends ________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Levels of Organization:

Individual Population –

________________________________ – grouping of different populations that live together in a defined area

Ecosystem –a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place along with their physical environment

Biome –

Biosphere

Energy Flow:

“At the core of every organism’s interaction with the environment is its need for energy to power life’s processes.”

Plants use ________________________________________________________________________________ for photosynthesis

Most organisms use _______________________________________ to produce energy using cellular respiration.

All organisms produce ______________________________ as they digest ___________________________________ that also

become part of the environment and are _________________________________________by other organisms again

Energy Movement in an Ecosystem

There is a constant exchange and movement of energy between both the

_____________________________________________ and ________________________________________________ that make

up the environment.

____________________________________________ describe the flow of energy in the form of food through

organisms. All energy in the system is based upon the _________________ that is transformed as it

makes its way through an ____________________________________________.

Producers:

plants, algae and some bacteria are _______________________________________that use the Sun’s energy to

build organic molecules.

Some autotrophic bacteria use energy stored in chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide to obtain

energy using _____________________________________________.

They are all members of the _________________________________________________________________________

Consumers:

Animals, fungi and some bacteria that eat other organisms to obtain energy are _______________________

Types of _________________________________________:

Herbivores:

Obtain energy by ____________________________________________________________

Ex. Cows, caterpillars and deer

They are in the ________________________________________________________

Carnivores:

Eat and obtain their energy by eating animals and are in the

________________________________________________________________________________________

First level carnivores eat __________________________________________ while top level

carnivores eat ____________________________________________ as well.

Omnivores:

Eat both plants and animals

Detritivores:

Feed on _______________________________________________________________________ called detritus.

Ex.

Decomposers:

Get their energy from __________________________________________________________________ as they

break down dead plants and animals.

Ex.

They are at the __________________________________ of a food web

Feeding Relationships:

“Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction, from the sun or inorganic compounds to

autotrophs (______________________________) and then to various heterotrophs (___________________________).

Food Chains:

Energy stored by producers can be passed through an ecosystem along a ___________________

Food chain:

Ex. grass antelope coyote

Ex. algae zooplankton

Food Webs:

Trophic Levels:

Trophic Levels:

___________________________________– producers

________________________________________________________________ – consumers

Each consumer depends on the trophic level ______________________________ for its energy

Community Interactions: _________________________________ affect one another and can be described using

the following terms:

-

-

-

Predation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Symbiosis: When ___________________________________________________. There are 3 types:

1) Mutualism:

Ex. Lichens which contain an algae and fungus. The algae carry out photosynthesis, providing the fungus

with organic nutrients. The fungus ________________________ and minerals it has collected. The fungus also

provides a ________________________ to protect the algae

2) Commensalism:

Ex. Many decomposers are commensals because they rely on the droppings, dead and discarded

materials from other organisms.

3) Parasitism:

Ex. Tapeworm that _____________ nutrients from its host.

- A parasite will seldom kill its host since it is dependent on the host for nutrients

Competition:

Trees in a forest compete for limited water and sunlight

Those that can grow taller and wider and have the best root structure will survive the best.

Ecological Succession:

Ecological Succession

“Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances. As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out and new organisms move in, causing further changes in the community.”

Ecological Succession:

i.e. ________________in the physical environment over time or human activities such as clear cutting

Primary Succession

Primary Succession –

Ex. after a volcanic eruption or on rock that is exposed after glaciers melt

Pioneer Species

____________________________________________________are called pioneer species.

They take advantage of the ____________ in a given area

They have a high _________________________

they can spread over an area ______________

They have a quick growth and maturation time

they can produce seeds in a short period of time and produce many offspring

Ex. lichens and small plants with a rapid lifecycle

Climax Community

Climax Community:

In time, _____________________ will replace the pioneer species, and ________________will replace those species, and so on until a climax community is reached

Climax communities are long lived and long to mature. They are stabilized under the current habitat.

An example of a climax community is spruce forests or oak forests.

Climax communities are expected to persist so long as climate, geography, and other major environmental factors go unchanged and so long as it remains undisturbed by humans or other "unnatural" influences.

Climax Community in Victoria, British Columbia

The Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) Ecosystem

The only native oak trees in Western Canada

Garry oak and associated ecosystems combined are home to more plant species than any other terrestrial ecosystem in coastal British Columbia.

Many of these species occur nowhere else in Canada.

These habitats also support 104 species of birds, 7 amphibians, 7 reptiles and 33 mammal species.

Eight hundred insect and mite species are directly associated with Garry oak trees.

Protection of these Ecosystems…

The Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) Ecosystem

The only native oak trees in Western Canada

Garry oak and associated ecosystems combined are home to more plant species than any other terrestrial ecosystem in coastal British Columbia.

Many of these species occur nowhere else in Canada.

These habitats also support 104 species of birds, 7 amphibians, 7 reptiles and 33 mammal species.

Eight hundred insect and mite species are directly associated with Garry oak trees.

Secondary Succession

Secondary Succession:

Ex. __________________________, burned forests

Ex. after a fallen tree opens up part of the forest canopy, sun-loving pioneer species on the forest floor germinate to take advantage of the sun. Ecological succession happens and more species will crowd out the previous ones until reaching a climax community with the growth of a large tree similar to those around it.

Ecological Succsion…

_______________________________________________________________________ once they have been outcompeted

by other species. Their seeds remain ________________________ in the ground waiting for an

opportunity to germinate. The process starts all over again. Ecological succession is

________________________, not linear!!

Population Ecology: